The Hero Next Time: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 4)

Chapter Seven: Lauren, Saturday

They made two camps on the second floor of the Anvil Centre. There were two sections where black vinyl-upholstered, chrome-framed sofas surrounded glass and chrome coffee tables. The kids sat at one section, cheerfully chatting and consuming food and drink they'd swiped before coming up here. The adults formed an awkward semi-circle around Jordan and his phone, once Lauren and Sunny explained the nature of the case and of the evidence Jordan possessed. The problem was that there was one small phone and too many of them to see it, and the picture would look tiny if Jordan held it far enough away for them all to see it at once.

"I think we just have to accept that we're not all going to be able to watch it at the same time," Rachel said. "We need to take shifts."

"Sunny, Tej and I will watch it first, then," Lauren said. "We're closest to this."

"How are you close?" Rachel asked.

"Sunny brought Jordan to me. I get dibs."

Rachel huffed and said, "Fine. Don't spoil it for us, though."

"No, of course not. We all look with fresh eyes, because we might all see something different, and miss things others see. Once we all have a chance to watch, we'll all give our input."

Rachel seemed satisfied with this, and she and Al walked away to check on the kids. Joe and Joanie looked at each other, then at Al and Rachel.

Lauren sighed in frustration and said, "You know, you two can talk to them without one of you resorting to fisticuffs."

Joe scowled at her for airing dirty laundry in front of a stranger, but Joanie put a hand on his arm and led him over to the kids' table too.

"Now, before we begin," Lauren said, "what is your girlfriend's name?"

Jordan cleared his throat and said, "Naira. Naira Sandhu."

"And her husband's name?"

"Birinder."

"Birinder Sandhu?" Tej asked. "I know that name. Is he a real estate agent?"

Jordan blinked in surprise. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"I'm one too, I don't know if you remember. I think Birinder and I have crossed paths in a professional capacity. I'm pretty sure I've seen his face on bus stop benches in New West."

"Do you know anything else about this guy?" Lauren asked Tej.

"I'm afraid not, but we're a pretty small community in New West, so I should be able to find out some things."

"Okay," Lauren said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "Let's begin."

Jordan brought up the video and pressed play.

A house appeared in the field of view.

"Pause," Lauren said. Jordan paused and looked at her. "Where do they live?" she asked.

"Queensborough." He gave her the address, which she typed into her phone. 

"Thank you," she said. "I may need that later. Now, this drone of yours. Where did you get it?"

"Best Buy."

"Is it large?"

Jordan shrugged. "Standard size, I guess."

"Is it loud? I imagine those propellers make a lot of noise."

"You're asking if anyone noticed this drone. This was late at night."

"Is there a time stamp on the video?"

"Yes."

"So, you controlled this drone by remote control?"